Alan Braunstein’s love for the Gators is untraditional.
Braunstein, a self-described “tech geek” who works with software and databases in St. Petersburg, was not a college football fan when he moved from California. But his wife, Karen, a UF alumna, started bringing him to games in 2004, and the atmosphere of Ben Hill Griffin Stadium sucked him in.
When his marriage soured, Braunstein demanded joint custody of his adopted team.
“Even though she and I are no longer together, I’m not going to divorce the Gators,” he said.
But after watching Florida flounder in a 32-13 loss to Alabama in last season’s Southeastern Conference Championship, Braunstein was livid with UF offensive coordinator Steve Addazio. He discussed purchasing firesteveaddazio.com with a friend but decided it would be too rash for one loss.
After this year’s season opener, when Florida managed just 212 yards against what he believed to be a less talented Miami (Ohio) squad, however, Braunstein was fed up. Time to launch the website, he thought.
Five weeks later, when Florida played LSU, Braunstein strapped on a pair of orange-and-blue camouflage pants, orange-and-blue sunglasses, a half-orange, half-blue wig and even dyed his soul patch to match the team’s colors. He brought with him an 18-by-24 sign featuring a logo he laminated at Office Depot for $20.
It read: “Save Gator Football: FireSteveAddazio.com”
“Scrap the offense Tebow ran”
Florida’s offense has found itself in an unusual position this season: SEC bottom feeder. Florida ranks ninth in the conference in both points per game (27.6) and yards per game (329). And, like Braunstein, many fans blame Addazio.
Firesteveaddazio.com has brought in more than 40,000 unique visitors, and the coinciding Facebook page has about 6,000 members. With Florida riding a three-game losing streak, the heat has only gotten worse.
“You can’t control that stuff, you can’t let negativity shape you,” said Addazio, referring to disapproval toward the whole team, not just him. “There’s not a blame. … I know society is maybe not much that way. It’s too bad. It’s a sad commentary.”
Addazio is far from alone in this plight. Fire(insert name).com domains are registered for 10 of 12 SEC head coaches, Vanderbilt’s Robbie Caldwell and South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier being the exceptions. That’s also true for 10 of 25 coordinators.
Not all of the websites were bought in angst, though. The site dedicated to Georgia’s Mark Richt actually reads, “This page will not be used to encourage the firing of Mark Richt or other coaches on our staff.”
And the fireurbanmeyer.com domain was donated to the Florida University Athletic Association by a fan in 2007. The UAA also owns the rights to potential anti-Billy Donovan (men’s basketball) and Amanda Butler (women’s basketball) websites.
Richt, who received his share of heat from fans when the Bulldogs started this season 1-4, said followers are no more rabid today as when he was an FSU graduate assistant in 1985.
“Fans have always been that way,” he said. “I think the ability to voice that concern is a little bit different than it used to be, especially on the Internet, where it’s very anonymous. You can say you’re Bulldog Joe and say what you want, not really have any accountability for the words.”
“Addazio’s secretly a Bama fan”
When Alan Braunstein looked into buying firesteveaddazio.com the week after UF beat Miami (Ohio), he saw that the domain was not only purchased but that a website was up and running.
Just a few hours after watching the game in the living room of his Chattanooga, Tenn., house, Ryan Moyer bought the domain and went to work.
Moyer, who graduated from UF in 2005 with a degree in computer programming, thought about starting the website last year, but the domain was taken at the time.
Moyer has been a Gators fan his entire life. He grew up near Bivens Arm Lake on SW 36th Place and graduated from Eastside High. Counting his wife’s side, there are six UF alumni in the family.
Moyer believed that if he did not start the website, another fan would. And that person would focus more on demeaning Addazio as a person than as a football coach. Not only would the attacks be unfairly harsh, Moyer said, but they would mask legitimate concerns fans have with the team’s offense.
For example, Moyer questioned why 190-pound running back Jeff Demps received carries up the middle while 215-pound Emmanuel Moody took handoffs to the outside.
On Sept. 6, just one day after the website launched, The Gainesville Sun’s Pat Dooley criticized the website, writing that it was “the cliche of all cliches” and urging fans to “get off the ledge.” Moyer expected that reaction.
“I don’t think Pat Dooley has actually read the site,” Moyer said. “I don’t think he realizes we’re not just rabid fans, that we put a lot of thought into our arguments. If someone has told Addazio about it, he probably thinks it’s just his face with a big, red ‘X’ over it.”
Senior strong safety Ahmad Black said a lot of outsiders have enjoyed watching Florida reach new lows this season, but he added that the team’s leaders and coaches are strong enough to block the negativity.
Quarterback John Brantley agrees.
“We’re a close bunch,” he said. “As long as we’re all still together and we’re not pointing fingers at anybody, that’s all that matters to us. Either way, we’re going to feel some outside pressure, but we just got to know to let it all go.”
“This website is dumb”
Regardless of how large an audience he gains, Moyer does not think his criticism of Addazio has the power to actually fire Addazio, something the UAA confirmed.
“People who are making comments about Steve, they are based on an emotional reaction,” a spokesman said. “They don’t know Steve or how much passion he has. It’s an uneducated opinion.”
Steve Kane, who graduated from Florida in 1986 with a psychology degree, said he joined the movement because it’s a fun way to stay in touch with Gators fans and occasionally rant about the team. But he doesn’t think his voice affects Addazio’s job security.
Elligton Jones, a health administration graduate student, echoed Kane’s belief. But he said he’s been a fan since kindergarten, when he picked orange and blue as his favorite colors, and he thinks die-hard fans have earned the right to share their opinions, even if they’re negative.
Jones added that he doesn’t want Addazio fired, that he just wants him coaching the offensive line, a group he’s worked with since 2006. He also said he feels sorry for Addazio because of the criticism, something Alan Braunstein agrees with.
“We’re a tough crowd to please,” he said. “We only want a BCS Championship every year and a Heisman winner every other year.”
When Braunstein flashed his sign at the LSU game, he said he was warmly received. Most people in his section agreed. They are tired of Addazio’s play-calling.
But the reaction was not universal, and one fan even flipped Braunstein off for expressing his distaste of the offensive coordinator. Braunstein said he did not appreciate the gesture.
“I think there are better ways to tell someone you disagree with him,” he said. “But what do I know?
